Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Prior to the session, the bloggers in the front row were a bit too lively! The poor speakers may have feared that they had competition from the audience.

Panel -- each person has 6 min. 20 sec. total, with 20 seconds per slide. This turned out to be news to some of the presenters! Aaron Schmidt will be advancing the slides for the speakers. In addition, the audience will get to vote on the best presentation.

Jessica Sanchez -- This is her first CIL. Blogs are an important tool for libraries to reach their users. You can even use them to keep in touch with coworkers. Even tech-newbies can understand and create blogs. Who is blogging? President Obama and he is microblogging (although we recognize that he may have a ghost blogger). Tagging on blog posts can help organize blog posts. Blogs can cut down on email.

Only post on topic and make it relevant. If it is an institutional blog, you don't want to make it too personal. Be sure to tag your posts. Be sure to respond quickly to comments. Use questions, etc., to spark blog posts.

Nathan Flinchum -- We were All N00bs: Learning the Social Web by using the Social Web. Our patrons may feel a bit like they are jumping "into the deep in" when they begin using web 2.0. They may have concerns. We need to step back and think about how we got started, and use those memories. We learned by using the Internet/web 2.0. Not just going to training, but actually using the tools.

Why did we use it? Answer - something that we were interest in used to the Web as a tool (for communication). This was our on-ramp to the Internet. A single site of group of sites on a specific topic. On ramp qualities - a place where people with variety of skills levels can participate. The on-ramp allows the person to learn skills without them knowing it.

Mentioned:

Ning

Laconica

and others

Make what you put up for patrons to use a safe place for them to practice.

Learn from your friends. "Steal" what they are doing.

BTW Nathan is an SU iSchool graduate.

Jenny Novalis -- What is TechChat? They cover a variety of topics in their hands-on demonstrations and in their wiki. What is TechChat? A program/process. The TechChat wiki is a 24/7 reminder of what they learned. Besides the patron wiki, there is also a staff wiki. Staff can talk amongst themselves on the wiki and do brainstorming using the wiki.

What has staff reaction been? Yes, it is one more thing that they will have to learn. But they should see it as a benefit.

Joe Murphy -- Strategies for the Mobile Future of Libraries. These are the dominant device in our lives. Not sure cell phones, but smart phones. He trades about 400 text messages a day! OMG! He gets lots of info through text messages.

Text messaging is a way of information exchange, especially with doing reference.

Will be partnering with outside organizations to provide features.

He believes we should be able to engage our libraries and our library accounts with SMS (text messages).

Mobile apps are truly important and people are looking for them. They are downloaded, customizable. He wants these apps to be full functioning, just like the apps we're using on our computers.

BTW he used is cell phone for his notes during the presentation.

We do need to understand how to build and manage these services. They will not be "IT things". We need to understand how to market these apps, so they are findable by people who need them.

He believes that associations (and he mentioned SLA by name) should have mobile applications.

"It's not just about Twitter." (Nice closing statement.)

Madeline Kreischer -- Going to talk about the failed Facebook experiment. She is a federal court librarian. They were trying to use social networking to interact with the law clerks. They knew they wouldn't be able to interact with the judges. They decided to use Facebook. She felt that if people stay the Facebook page for the law library in action, then they would endorse it.

She created a Facebook page for the law library with lots of information on it. How could someone say "no" to that?

Benefits:

Reach a wider audience

Meet expectations

Change attitudes

Drawbacks: (similar to the benefits)

Reach a wider audience

Real and perceived security risks

and others

The Hurdles:

The IT Dept.

The judges

the fear-mongers

Other librarians

So even though she though she could go through the backdoor on this, she really did need to go through the proposal process and get everyone on board.

Four of us went to lunch at McDonald's. The gentleman (a professional dad) at the next table wondered what Maurice Coleman's t-shirt said (Library Society of the World Shovers and Makers) and then wondered if we were librarians. Wben we said "yes", he gave us all high-fives! He appreciates libraries for their content and pleased that he son has become a reader due to his exposure with libraries. (We forgot to ask whether his son's love of reading came from interaction at a public or school library.) When he got up to leave, he engaged us in a conversation about software, open source software, and libraries. He believes in the power of open source and hopes that libraries will use more open source software. After he left, we sat amazed. Here was a random conversation that was an appropriate addition to our CIL experience. He was a user that many library administrators should meet.

Maurice took a photo of this library supporter (above, added 4/1/2009).

Sarah Houghton-Jan -- Library Social Network Profiles: The Good, the bad, and the Ugly

Managing the library's profile

The Good --

Identity

Register for uniform usernames

Register with a uniform generic email

Profile information on site is current

Communication

Quick replies to users' manges/comments

Personal in torn

Keep it open to all (minus ads/spam)

The ugly --

Identity

Register with random strange usernames

Register with individual emails

Profile information on site is outdated

Communication

Slow or no replies to users

Institutional in tone

Selectively friend people

Resources

CheckUsernames.com

Open ID and Claim ID

Ping.fm or hellotext.com

AtomKeep

Michael Porter --

Making sure that WebJunction's online presence is appropriate.His online identity is LibraryMan. Many people know his truly as that and not as Michael Porter.

WebJunction has a site that we can participate in and that is a place to talk about who we are. You can control who can see what - micro-control. That is something you can do in Facebook.

Do

Have swag that shows who you are

Talk about what you are doing

Show your personality

Have fun with the tools

Share your success stories

Don't

Have materials online that will embarrass you. Remember that you are representing your organization.

Take your creativity too far.

Do? Don't?

Consider the impact.

Question -- Some people want to have a separate professional and personal identity. Greg -- Those identities over time will blend and merge. Easier and more authentic to have just one identity.Sarah -- Doesn't think it is possible to keep those identities separate. You don't have control on how people access and blend information in their minds.Michael -- You can keep somethings private, but you may not be able to have two identities.Amanda -- Digital natives are only creating one identity.

Michael -- We care about functionality, not brands. They had mentioned specific brands, but it is the functionality that matters.

BTW a tweet from another session notes that David Lee King had to be take on the identity of David "Lee" King online because DavidKing.com already existed.

Question: Aggregating our social presence. If they find us in one spot can they find us elsewhere.Greg -- He is an advocate for aggregating your lifestream. It can be very practical. But people aren't familiar with the lifestreaming tools (e.g., FriendFeed).Sarah -- Put links in your profiles to your other profiles. And put links on your contact page.Michael -- Do we keep piling on new tools? We need to research the best way of approaching this problem. Amanda -- People are overwhelmed by information.

Question: Do you really want everyone to have access to everything you have done?

Digital Identity -- Their digital identity is ubiquitous with with real world identity. Their digital identity is how they exert themselves online.

Digital Creativity -- The Renaissance Generation - Patricia Martin -- 93% of teenagers are online. Nearly 2/3 of online teens are content creators. Popular social networking activities -- many are around creating content.

Digital Information Quality -- A shift from authoritative control to collaborative control, and social responsibility. Collective control with social responsiblity.

Digital Safety -- They have grown up in a world that is preceived as being safe. We believe that there is a lot fo unsafe stuff that we must protect them from. Yet the risk is very low. Most teens ignore strangers who contact them online. (National School Board Study) However, some do break the rules that keep them safe. They are willing to take risks.

Digital Opportunity -- There are no barriers. They playing field is leveled. The access us universal. Connection is ubiquitous. "It's all about ME."

Digital Sharing -- They believe in copy and remix.

Digital Privacy -- No such thing. LifeStreams

Digital ??? -- Digital natives can trace their lives online. In Japan, people give newborns there own domain names as gifts.

Digital Advocacy -- What you do online actually makes a difference

Top five social networks and growing (Jan, 2009):

Facebook

MySpace

Twitter

Flixster

Linkedin -- average age is 42 (digital pioneers)

This is where we are leaving our footprints.

Social graphs -- mapping our relationships. Tools for figuring out of social influence. Who knows who, and the relationships.

How do we get libraries in the mix of sharing information with friends?

Three types of users:

Young minds --> Enhanced opporutnitie s to read and grow

Virtual users --> Connected indigital and communities

Power users --> Wildly enthusiastic customers

Looking at Virtual Users & strategies:

Engagement - Customers feel connected

Enrichment - To provide a rich online experience that enhances their daily lives

Empower - Personalize and add value. How does it empower them to celebrate themselves.

Fast paced and a lot of content. Mu notes are incomplete, unfortunately.

Part of the joy of Computers in Libraries is the networking, and often that occurs of coffee, drinks and meals. Last night, five of us headed to the restaurant at the Marriott Courtyard for dinner and an extended conversation. (We were indeed the noisy table.) We talked about sessions, about things we have learned elsewhere, about technology in our lives, and much more. While we kept saying we were going to Twitter different comments, we didn't, but the best Twitter post from dinner was "this web thing could be big." That attracted comments both in Twitter and Facebook. Context? Early on in the Internet era, some people saw the promise, while others were skeptical. Could it be a big thing? Yes. Has it been a big thing? For sure! And some of the people here at CIL helped to lay the library-Internet groundwork for the rest of us.

Onto this morning's keynote with Erik Boekesteijn and Paul Holdengraber.

Erik Boekesteijn -- Delft Public Library -- They have looked at different best practices in libraries. One of the people they came across in their work was Paul Holdengraber at the New York Public Library (Director of Public Programs). The video they shot at NYPL during their tour of of America is beautiful (2007)!

Paul was attracted to NYPL when we was asked "to come to New York to oxygenate the library." He wanted to create a library without walls. He wanted to create a library that was exciting and sexy.

Paul has a wonderful sense of humor! He has had a very international library. Born in the U.S., but lived in many countries.

Great quote: There are two types of PhDs - a brilliant PhD and a finished PhD! (Addendum - This was a quote from his father. He said afterward that his father would be happy to know that this quote was retweeted.)

Paul has been an academic, worked as a fellow at the Getty, and now at NYPL.

A museum is not a resting home for old masters.

BTW I had thought that Paul was going to interview Erik. Erik was a bit nervous beforehand, which I guess led me to that conclusion. Paul is so effervescent and verbose...and VERY interesting!

Al library is a public place where people engage in something that is extremely private (learning, self improvement).

People are hungry for substance. People want to be fed and nourished.

They showed a video of the variety of programs that Paul has hosted and OMG! He has hosted "the greats" at NYPL. (Live from New York Public Library) The email list for the series went from 500 to 25,000!

Paul said "the important thing is to begin." He believes in asking for forgiveness, not for permission. (A rule that many innovators live by.)

He wants to make NYPL irresistible. He wants to attract all ages through his programming. It is obvious that he understands the power of new technology.

How do conversations continue to have a life? Those conversations continue on blogs, Twitter, Flickr, etc. He thinks that this use of technology is marvelous.

Erik - Maybe a librarian needs to become a live-brarian/life-brarian.

The books on the shelf are there. What should we do about it? Need to make people desire them. Libraries are places of desire.

We believe in communicating/transmitting that experience of the book.

Paul - "All I really need is for my mouth to move." That is the technology he needs in order to do his job.

He is fascinating at how library might work to make us focus. Making our attention-span longer. A repository where we learn things. Focus out attention on new discoveries. Libraries are a great place for opportunities.

He is interested in the face-to-face encounters.

The library should be porous. It should be everywhere.

Paul closed with the story of how Barack Obama found his community organizing job in Chicago. How? Using books at the New York Public Library. (This story has been told in the New York Times this winter.)

Monday, March 30, 2009

As I tweeted earlier, CIL is not only a very worthwhile event, but it is like a family reunion! The conversations have been wonderful and they are occurring everywhere. (If someone is looking for a quiet corner, there aren't any.) 10 us -- librarians and library trainers -- did lunch at Matsutake Sushi and the conversation was as good as the food.

The next session I'm attending is on the Flickr Commons.

Michelle Springer:

The Flickr Commons is comprised of digital objects where there are no known copyright restrictions. A growing number of ibraries and museums are joining the commons. People can get to the Commons through several links on Flickr. Many people have learned, though, about the Commons via Flickr's blog as well as word of mouth.

From the Brooklyn Museum. Have been on Flickr since 2006. Once the Commons came into being, they saw it has been a wonderful addition to their presence on Flickr.

The Commons, at first, was very overwhelming. However, once a group got started on Flickr that was associated with the Commons, they found it less overwhelming and could see a community building. Users are engaged around the materials. People are researching the materials and adding information. People are adding their expertise - expertise that the Museum may not have. They find that they are now working with the community.

They have also been able to get feedback and input from the Commons community. The Commons community has also done troubleshooting for them. She called them "amazingly helpful".

Michelle Springer:

From the Library of Congress. Power commenters. They provide missing information and provide links to research that backs them up. Some people are able to add personal memories/experiences to the photographs. Able to connect with specialized experts.

They find notes to be problematic. While they can be helpful, people may also use them to add humor.

Sometimes people talk about titles of photographs and historical context, like the photo above with is entitled "Negro Boy". The title says something about the time when it was taken and historical context.

Josh Greenberg:

From the New York Public Library. Realized that they needed to meet users where the users are. User engagement isn't just something a few staff members can do.

Said it took 10 months to sign a contract with the Flickr Commons. There are many rights that they had to discuss about the images and their use. They went with images that were representative of the collection as a whole. When they joined, they had not decided who owned the user interaction. they needed to bring the curators into the discussion. They found that they had not grappled with the ownership questions related to who owns this project internally and especially the user interaction.

This is about community engagement.

Martin Kalfatovic:

From the Smithsonian Institute. More of a social experiment in their own community than a technology problem. What happens between a photo being in a Smithsonian collection and the photo being on Flickr?

And to spend a lot of time with a lawyer getting through the "legal weeds".

They contributed photos of scientists and inventors. Flickr thought there would not be an interest in men with mustaches, but the photos have been very popular. They have added many photos since then, including micro photographs of fish. Have found that they have to often convince in-house people that people will want to see these various photos.

To get started, you just need a small group of like-minded people. Once you get some stuff out and positive feedback coming back, more in the institution will want to get involved.

Notes from the Q&A:

The Flickr Commons is part of Flickr, which is part of Yahoo. There are institutions that are waiting to get into the Flickr Commons. There is a legal process, then there is stuff Yahoo/Flickr needs to do to bring an institution on board. These are institutional accounts that live in a framework that was built for individual accounts.

Flickr has also created "associated" accounts, which sounds like sub-accounts on a master (institutional) account.

The materials in the Flickr Commons are labeled "no known copyright restrictions". That means that the institution that owns the photographs cannot exert any rights on the materials. (Nor can anyone else.)

Third party rights have to do with privacy and publicity rights, which is something NYPL discussed before working with the Flickr Commons. They have created language to attach to the photos that addresses those rights.

More than 2000 people will be attending events related to Computers in Libraries this year. Although not a record, very respectable in this economy. Many first-timers and many who have been here before. I realized this morning that CIL is both an event and a family reunion. For those of us who use Twitter, etc., this is one conference were we get to catch-up face-to-face.

Have already run into one current Syracuse Univ. iSchool student and one alumni. Always a pleasure to connect names with faces and to see people who haven't seen in a long time.

And if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I ran into flight problems last night (and I wasn't the only one). Thankfully was able to take an early morning flight and get here before the conference started.

SLA booth as a wonderful display about the history of the organization. SLA is 100 years old this year!

Lee Rainer was the keynote speaker this morning and he talked about the various technology users (Internet users) by category.

Okay...Mary Ellen Bates is this first session speaker. Her links will be at http://batesinfo.com/cil2009. She is flying through her slides, so check the URL for all of the URLs and whatever else she puts up for this session.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

This is Ada Lovelace Day and people around the world are using today to blog about women in technology. According to the Science Museum:

Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852) is often referred to as the world's first computer programmer. The daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron, and the admired intellect, Annabella Milbanke, Ada Lovelace represented the meeting of two alternative worlds: the romanticism and art of her father versus the rationality and science of her mother. In her attempt to draw together these polar opposites and create a 'poetical science' during the Victorian age, Ada collaborated with the renowned mathematician and inventor, Charles Babbage.

During my lifetime, it has become much more normal to see women work in technology positions, at least in industrialized countries, but we all know that it hasn't always been this way. In the U.S., the shift really occurred during World War II when women replaced men in many jobs so the men could go into the military. When the men returned from the service, they took back most of their jobs, but the door had already been opened and women did not let it slam shut!

In the last decade, I've heard of a need to get more young women interested in technology, so that the gains women have won, in holding a broad range of jobs, is not not lost. Unfortunately, the road to holding a good technology job requires continued progress and mastery of subjects such as math and science. There are other appealing jobs where the payoff is quicker.

As I think about digitization, digitization libraries, etc., I know that these are areas which are attracting both women and men. Influential women who come quickly to mind are:

Sunday, March 22, 2009

SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE BOOK The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland 16-18 October 2009 http://book-conference.com

We are particularly excited about holding this year's Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The beautiful and historic city of Edinburgh has long served as a center of learning and the arts. It is the home of the world's largest book festival and oldest literary award. Edinburgh's important role in literature was recognized in 2004 when it was named the first UNESCO City of Literature. The Book Conference venue, the University of Edinburgh, has contributed significantly to the city's, and the nation's achievements. Since its founding in 1582 it has made vital contributions to learning and scholarship. We expect that the Seventh International Conference on the Book will make contributions of its own, in the spirit of this impressive tradition.

The Book Conference serves as an inclusive forum for examining the past, current and future role of the book. It proceeds from recognition that although the book is an old medium of expression, it embodies thousands of years' experience of recording knowledge. The pervasive influence of this experience continues to shape newer forms of information technology, while at the same time providing a reference point for innovation.

The Book Conference not only considers the book and other information technologies as artefacts or discrete objects, it also examines other key aspects of the information society, including publishing, libraries, information systems, literacy, and education. Broadly speaking, the Conference engages the interrelation between changes in thought, creation, production and distribution, and the role and meaning of the book and other information technologies. The Book Conference welcomes a wide range of participants from the world of books including authors, publishers, printers, librarians, IT specialists, book retailers, editors, literacy educators, and academic researchers and scholars from all disciplinary traditions.

The Conference includes plenary presentations by accomplished researchers, scholars and practitioners, as well as numerous paper, workshop and colloquium presentations. Presenters may choose to submit written papers for publication in the fully refereed International Journal of the Book. If you are unable to attend the Conference in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a paper for refereeing and possible publication in this fully refereed academic Journal.

Whether you are a virtual or in-person presenter at this Conference, we also encourage you to present on the Conference YouTube Channel. Please select the Online Sessions link on the Conference website for further details.

The deadline for the next round in the call for papers (a title and short abstract) is 16 April 2009. Future deadlines will be announced on the Forum website after this date. Proposals are reviewed within two weeks of submission. Full details of the Conference, including an online proposal submission form, are to be found at the Conference website - http://book-conference.com

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

I am part of the group that is organizing this global event. Please read this "call" and think about how you can participate. Everyone who is involved will have a part in shaping Conversants. There is also a video about the event, which you can access at the bottom of this blog post.

Call for Participation and Collaboration:

Announcing “Conversants :-) A Participatory Conversation,” a new idea in professional development for challenging economic times.

We invite you to join the movement to create and share information through worldwide coordinated conversations. Library communities and organizations are uniquely poised to employ the latest collaborative resources; the conversations that result from these collaborations hold great promise for students and practitioners across the information professions. Sharing knowledge and expertise via these collaborative conversations as part of a united effort is both beneficial and necessary, so we invite you lend your voice and join us in this unique event. Become a Conversant!

This effort is spearheaded by R. David Lankes with support from the Information Institute at Syracuse University, librarians and library students.

Theme: Participatory Librarianship

Save the date: Session Proposals are Due April 16th and Ongoing Virtual Sessions will begin April 30th, 2009. A Hybrid Event will take place at ALA in Chicago.

Call for participation:

Virtual sessions will be coordinated through the conference site, but can take place anywhere on the Internet. Blog posts, Second Life presentations, FriendFeed rooms, videos, etc., are all encouraged.

We need participation in the following two areas:

Proposal submissions

We will be soliciting involvement at many levels of participation. Some ways that you can contribute include:

Papers – Traditional long-form papers will be considered for publication in Conversants, an online open-access journal. These papers will use CommentPress to allow participants to comment upon and discuss the paper on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis.

Events – We are also seeking time- and/or place-based events that can be archived and shared. Examples might include a SecondLife presentation, which can archived as a streaming video and shared with participants, or a podcast of a workshop or discussion that took place at a physical library.

Cases – Do you have an example of something that you did at your library that worked really well? Or that flopped spectacularly? Share your experience with your fellow Conversants! Creativity in format is encouraged.

Posters – Present your research, tackle an idea or controversial topic, or present conflicting viewpoints of a current event. Everyone is welcome to submit poster proposals, but library students are especially encouraged to participate at this level.

Postings – Blog postings, open Facebook posts, etc., that will carry a conference badge (that links to the conference hub with an associated conversation).

Conversations – All Conversants will be encouraged to participate in the conversations that will be happening throughout the event. In addition, special “water cooler” threaded conversations on a topic or issue of your choosing will be encouraged. Proposals should include an overview of the topic, starter questions, and a core of at least 5 people to seed/start conversation.

Conference Facilitators

In addition to the above, in order to ensure that this global conversation goes smoothly, people are needed to assist the core group in the following ways:

Technical support – Assist with the managing the Conversant web site, which will include pointers to the various conversations.

We have a regulatory mechanism in place to ensure that works can be used in new and creative ways while at the same time respecting the rights of rights holders.It is called copyright law.The Google settlement may make the careful balances found in copyright law (as well as the public procedures to change it) moot, replacing them with private contractual arrangements instead.

And I like his closing line from Part 2:

In the interim, the settlement may be the best we can hope for - even though it has the potential to radically alter all of our worlds.

In between, he provides wisdom from the speakers and thoughts for us to ponder. These two posts are definitely worth reading.

By the way, it is very interesting is that the U.S. Copyright Office will not be providing any comments to the court on the settlement. I would have thought they would have been first in line to talk about whatever effects this could have on how the law is interpreted.

Friday, March 13, 2009

This is a topic that comes up among trainers and presenters occasionally. When it does, a lot of good information is exchanged and sometimes that information goes someplace useful (see additional resources below). In February, I had someone tell me that he was new at hiring trainers and he asked for advice. That got me thinking about all of the things that could be said. Over the last several weeks, I've asked others for their input (through FriendFeed and the podcast T is for Training). What follows is the wisdom from a large group of people who have been through it all and lived to tell the stories. I offer this not as "you must do", but rather as "please consider".

By the way, did you notice in the photo above that the laptop is sitting on a cardboard box that must be a make-shift podium?

Advice to conference/training/event organizers:

Before the event: This may seem daunting, but as you read it, I hope you'll see that this is just the basis for a good conversation (or email) about what you want. Much of the advice below translates into "be as transparent as possible".

When you contact a speaker/trainer, tell the person exactly what you need, possible dates, locations, etc. Don't just say "can you speak?"

Discuss who the audience will be, what they know, their expectations, etc. Remember to include information on the number of people expected.

Talk about what information you want conveyed, especially if you are looking for a specific viewpoint.

Tell the speaker/trainer what the facility is like and what technology (PC or Mac) will be available for the person to use. Since everyone had a camera (your cell phone), consider taking photos of the facility (from different angles) and sending them to the presenter. If there is something unusual about the facility, let the person know. For example, must the person stand at a podium? Will someone else have to advance the person's slides?

While you may have wonderful technology, some presenters like to bring their own laptops. When you talk about technology, you might want to ask about this. Will the person be able to use wifi or some other network connection?

If you are bringing someone in to be on a panel, be sure to mention who else will be on the panel (or who you hope will be on the panel). By the way, panels can have very different formats, so define what you mean by "panel".

Be upfront about what you can and cannot pay for.

If you expect the person to speak without receiving an honorarium or any money to cover travel, say that.

If you can offer an honorarium, don't just say that but also say how much the honorarium is. If the person needs to cover any travel costs, knowing upfront what the honorarium is will be important.

If you are going to offer the person a gift (and not an honorarium), please tell them that they will receive a non-monetary gift. (Wouldn't a monetary gift be an honorarium?)

If you are going to pay the person (honorarium or professional fee) and cover some of the travel costs, tell the speaker/trainer which travel costs can be covered. If there is a limit to how much can be covered (in a dollar amount), make that known.

If you expect the person to pay a conference registration fee in order to present at a conference, state that.

If travel is involved, tell the speaker/trainer if you will be making the travel arrangements or if you expect the speaker to make his/her own arrangements.

Mention your cancellation policy. If the speaker/trainer has made flight arrangements, for example, and you need to cancel the event, will you cover the cancel/change fee charged by the airline?

If you want handouts, discuss the format, deadline, etc. Can the handout be a file on the Internet for people to access at their convenience and not paper?

While it is possible to do all of the negotiation and hiring via email, fax, and snail mail, a phone conversation can be helpful, so don't shy away from arranging a phone call.

Do you require a contract? Some do, some don't. An agreement of some sort provides information for you and the speaker/trainer. It is something that you both can point to and see what was agreed. (I highly advocate for some sort of paperwork.)

Close to the event: 1-2 weeks before the event, consider touching base with the presenter/trainer via email to ensure that everything is on track. (It can be a brief email.) This not only provides some assurance to you, it tells the presenter/trainer that you remember that the person is coming.

In the email, state any last minute information that would be of use the the speaker/trainer, such as the number of people registered for the event or the name/phone number of someone in your office to contact in case of emergency.

By the way, this is a great time to double-check how the person is getting to the event. Does the person need to be picked up from a hotel? While it may be a bit inconvenient to arrange to have someone picked up, it can help with costs and provide a bit of hospitality.

If the event is a conference, you may want to invite the speaker/trainer to participate in some of the other conference activities. If so, make sure that the person knows where the activities are taking place. Considering meeting the person and ensuring that they can get to whatever (yes, a bit more hospitality). It is also a chance for you to talk about the presentation, audience, etc., and introduce the speaker to other attendees.

If the event has multiple presenters and/or a moderator, make sure that everyone has each other's email address so they can contact each other, if they want. An easy way of doing this is to copy all of them on your touching base email.

Day of the event:

Acclimate the speaker/trainer to your facility.

Stay available while the person gets setup and be ready to troubleshoot any problems.

Talk again (briefly) about your expectations for the event. This is a great time to refresh everyone's memory about handling Q&A, breaks, lunch, etc.

If you are not going to be in the room during the event, be sure to tell the speaker/presenter how to find you, in case the person needs help.

After the event:

You may want to follow-up with event feedback (formal or informal). That information is always appreciated.

Make sure that the presenter understands any remaining responsibilities (invoice, statement of expenses, whatever) .

Consider asking the speaker/training what could have been differently and be open to whatever feedback you receive.

Ongoing: If you are an organization that frequently hires people to do presentations or workshops, consider placing information on your web site for the speakers/trainers, so they can access it at any time. For example:

Photos of your conference rooms and/or training labs.

Information on the equipment available (hardware and software).

Copies of any forms you require.

Links to information about the area. Your local Chamber of Commerce likely maintains information on the area that you can link to. This is great information for speakers/trainers who are coming from out-of-town.

If there are specific hotels, eateries, cab companies, airport, etc. that you use/recommend, include that.

When you contact a possible presenter, it would then be easy to point the person to this information. In addition, anyone who wanted to propose an event could look at this information in advance of doing the propose. (Yes, that means that you do not hide this information on your web site.)

Advice to presenters/trainers: If you read the information above, likely you can see some questions you might ask, etc., but here is some advice just for you.

Ask questions. If you need more information, ask for it.

Be clear about your needs/requirements and do that upfront.

Don't make assumptions about the event, the organization, the budget, etc.

Understand that the organization may not be accommodate all of your needs.

Read all of the information that you are sent from the organization and complete all of the forms.

Hit any deadlines that the organization puts in place. If you want to move a deadline, ask in advance if a deadline is actually movable.

Be willing to negotiate, but also understand that somethings may not be negotiable.

Remember that you were hired for a reason. Be sure that you keep that reason in mind.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

According to its web site, "The Califa Library Group is a not for profit membership cooperative serving libraries and information organizations in California." Califa held a Digital Symposium in January and has made the presentations (PowerPoint or Word files) available for anyone to view.The presentations were:

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

I spent a few minutes this afternoon talking with a graduate student who is leaving on Saturday for a "real" job. He is fortunate to have found a place that is interested in utilizing what he has learned from his library science degree and his certificate in digital libraries. He is very excited and, in this economy, very thankful.

Every year, students graduate from various programs around the world hopefully armed with the correct skills for the professional positions that they want. Luckily, most have been in programs that have been able to teach them the things that they need to know. But what about our employees that are looking for new opportunities? With institutions reacting to their changing financial situation, some employees are finding themselves having to look for new work. Do they have the right skills? Have they been given the opportunity to try new things, learn new tools and techniques, and adopt ideas?

Wait...wait...wait...I can hear you say that, even though those people worked for you, it wasn't your job to make them employable by others. Consider this...What if people came knocking on your door, ready to fill an open position, but lacking the correct skills because their employer didn't do any continuing education?

Did that make you stop and think?

Yes, times are tough, but that doesn't mean that we should stop investing in our employees. Let's make sure that if they have to leave and go someplace else, that we send them off with the skills they will need to be successful. You can do that without spending a lot of money. Give them time to read, time to experiment, or time to attend an online webinar. A small investment of time may be all they need in order to improve their skills and ensure that they are employable.

Friday, March 06, 2009

RSS Calendar updated their site and code, which means that the calendar had disappeared off of this blog. Well, now it is back! If we're going to be at the same event, please make sure that we get a chance to talk!

Michele in Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center just recommended this book to me and, given her passion for EAD, I figure this must be an excellent resource.

Written by Daniel Pitti and Wendy Duff in 2001, Encoded Archival Description on the Internet contains 11 papers that "discuss the fundamentals of archival arrangement and description and illustrate how EAD facilitates descriptive practice and extends reference and access in an electronic networked environment." (review) Michele said that the book does not teach how to create EAD, but provides much needed background information. Helen Tibbo in her review noted, "For those who know little about EAD, Encoded Archival Description on the Internet is an excellent introduction from the key individuals who have guided its development. For those already using or familiar with EAD, this book should raise many questions and venues for exploration."

The annual Dublin Core conferences bring together leading metadata researchers and professionals from around the world. DC-2009 in Seoul will be the ninth in a series of annual conferences held previously in Tokyo, Florence, Seattle, Shanghai, Madrid, Manzanillo, Singapore, and Berlin. The ninth conference, DC-2009 "Semantic Interoperability of Linked Data", will convene 12-16 October, 2009, in Seoul, Korea. DC 2009 will be hosted by the National Library of Korea.

DC-2009 will focus on linked data and the enabling of the Semantic Web. Conference participants will explore the conceptual and practical issues in breaking the constraints of data silos and connecting pieces of data, information, and knowledge. Metadata is a key to these processes supporting publishing and interlinking structured data on the Semantic Web. There is a growing interest in the metadata community in connecting existing and future data contained in silos within and across organizations in a meaningful way that supports extraction and correlation of the data. The linking of data from disparate data silos presents technical and social challenges that will be explored at DC-2009 through full papers, project reports, posters, special sessions and workshops.

A Call for Papers has been issued (see full details on the conference web site )

Important deadlines:

Papers/reports/posters submission: 24 April 2009

Acceptance notification: 22 June 2009

Camera-ready copy due: 30 July 2009

Categories of materials invited for submission:

FULL PAPERS (8-10 pages)Note: Accepted papers must be presented in Seoul by at least one of their authors.

PROJECT REPORTS (4-5 pages)Note: Accepted project reports must be presented in Seoul by at least one of their authors.

POSTERS (1-2 pages)Note: Accepted posters must be presented in Seoul by at least one of their authors. Accepted posters will be published in the Conference Proceedings and displayed at the conference.

Online Submissions:

Authors wishing to submit papers, reports, or poster proposals may do so through the DCMI Peer Review System

Proceedings publication:

Conference proceedings for all conferences in the Dublin Core conference series are freely accessible at the DCMI Conference Papers web site . Proceedings are indexed in the British Library conference collection, OCLC FirstSearch ProceedingsFirst and PapersFirst files, the ACM Guide to Computing Literature, and other indexing and abstracting services.

Themes and topics:

Beyond the conference theme, "Semantic Interoperability of Linked Data," papers, reports, and poster submissions are welcome on a wide range of metadata topics, such as:

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is an open organization, incorporated in Singapore as a public, not-for-profit Company limited by Guarantee (registration number 200823602C), engaged in the development of interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad range of purposes and business models. DCMI's activities include work on architecture and modeling, discussions and collaborative work in DCMI Communities and DCMI Task Groups, annual conferences and workshops, standards liaison, and educational efforts to promote widespread acceptance of metadata standards and practices.DCMI web site: http://dublincore.org/

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

With a more and more content being born and disseminated digitally, conferences like this one are increasing in importance.

E-books and E-content 2009University College London, 12 May 2009, 10.00 to 17.00www.econtent2009.com

The theme of E-books and E-content this year is innovation – the new tools and techniques which have emerged in e-publishing which will impact on everybody involved in content creation and delivery. As usual the event will be of interest to publishers, librarians, content developers and managers, and all involved in the information value chain. It will take both a strategic view and look at some practical implementations of these new ideas which include the impact of social networking, Web 2.0 and the web generally, using search as a publishing tool and re-publishing and re-purposing content to suit different requirements.

The day will be led by Professor David Nicholas, Director of the Centre for Publishing and the Department of Information Studies at UCL, who will present the research agenda for EC-content, particularly focusing on how users interact with electronic sources in the scholarly sector. He will be followed by two keynote speakers with contrasting views of the future, starting with Ruth Jones, Director of Publisher Business Development in EMEA for Ingram Digital, one of the world's major publishing enterprises. Ruth has over 20 years' experience in the publishing, library and electronic information industries and brings not only experience of the publishing sector but until recently was Head of Product Development at the British Library. She will provide a strategic view from the perspective of a commercial publisher, and will be followed by Richard Wallis, the Technology Evangelist of Talis, the library and information systems solution provider, who will predict trends in web and IT generally and how they impact on our domain. Richard has spoken at many major international events and publishes a blog on all matters to do with information and libraries.

Subsequent papers will review in more detail issues such as Open Access models, with a presentation from Eelco Ferwerda from Holland, CEO of OAPEN, the network of University publishers in Europe; re-publishing and re-purposing featuring Emerson Samuels of Mark Logic, an international supplier of innovative technologies to the e-publishing community whose customers are as diverse as Elsevier, the US Army and the University of Toronto Library. Finally, social networking will also feature through presentations from Timo Hannay of Nature, a leading Web 2.0 adopter, and Dan Pollock, lead analyst with Outsell – the information industry analysts. Steven Flower, Technical Analyst with Substance, an innovative social research and communication organisation, will talk about how they have established a national programme of portals which combine content from multiple sources pitched at the difficult audience of young adults. PLINGS (places to go, things to do) is a project and network deploying multi-channel web technologies.

A plenary session chaired by Anthony Watkinson of UCL, will bring together the day's experts and others to debate what stakeholders can get from these new developments, what are the business trends and models, and what will be the impact on our customers and service users.

The event will be chaired by Hazel Woodward, Librarian of Cranfield University, with input from Anthony Watkinson and John Akeroyd of UCL.

For one of the assignments in the course "Creating, Managing and Preserving Digital Assets", the students must blog about digitization programs that they have found online. This assignment forces them to look at several programs and to critique them. What they notice in the programs changes during the semester as they learn more about digitization. In the beginning, they may focus on the way the site looks and then start commenting more on metadata and searchability as the semester goes on. This semester, the student blog posts are at http://ist677-2009.blogspot.com/. Please note that because of a requirement concerning the ownership of student work, the students' names do not display on the blog posts.

You are welcome to read their blog posts and comment on them. Comments need to be appropriate. Inappropriate and spam comments will be deleted. Comments that help them expand their knowledge of digitization are greatly appreciated. And if your program has been reviewed, feel free to ask questions about what they said and why. Keep in mind that they only know what they can see and don't have the background knowledge of an insider.

Back in January, I received an email about this system. If I am reading the description correctly, this comes without a camera. The setup is flexible enough to use a wide range of camera. The web site says:

With a modular design, the DT RG3040 can be configured to work with the widest variety of cameras, lighting, and accessories so your workflow can evolve as technology and needs change.

While Digital Transitions is focused on high-end photographers, its Division of Cultural Heritage (DCH) has a different missions. According to the site "DCH helps museums, institutions and libraries translate their existing collection-based materials into valuable digital assets." They did exhibit at ALA's Midwinter Conference.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

LexisNexis, a company that provides some digital asset management services, has create a web page with information about its services AND more generic information that might be of interest even to non-LN users. If you look at the page, you'll see information related to digitization in these categories (which are not specific to LN's services):

Conferences

News Headlines

Top Blogs

One of the things that is interesting about the page is that you can rearrange the items on it and thus customize it for your own use. You might, for example, bring the news headlines to the top.

It has taken them quite a while to go live with this page. Let's hope continues to grow in the amount of content it contains.

Monday, March 02, 2009

In January, Indus International made the following announcement (excerpt from the Jan. 12 press release ).

Indus International, Inc. announced the addition of the ScanRobot® SR301 Automatic Page Turning Book Scanner to its expanding line of Book Scanners. The ScanRobot® SR301 is manufactured in Austria by TREVENTUS Mechatronics GmbH and will be offered in North America exclusively by Indus International, Inc. and Indus MIS, Inc.

The ScanRobot® is capable of scanning books, automatically turning pages achieving a throughput rate of between 1,500 and 2,500 pages per hour depending on the size and condition of the book. Very fragile and difficult to open books can easily be scanned by the ScanRobot® SR301.

The ScanRobot® is unique, because it is working with a proprietary digital camera system and an optical prism (TREVENTUS PCD300(tm), TREVENTUS prism and capturing device 300(tm)), who allows to scan the pages absolutely distortion free. With its cold LED lamps there is no exposure of UV to the precious book pages. The illumination (cold LED light) developed by Treventus enables glare-free scanning without any exposure to heat, infrared or UV. Unlike conventional procedures, the exposure to light is only for a few milliseconds, thereby reducing the entire exposure for the book to a previously unattainable minimum. The book is opened at a convenient 60° angle protecting fragile books from any harm.

As with all its other products, Indus will offer the ScanRobot® as a turnkey solution that will include free consultation, the scanner and its bundled software ScanGate(tm), a high end PC workstation and a 21" wide screen monitor, installation and user training on-site and after sales support with on-site service.

The institute consists of one five-day session in June 2009 and a two-day follow-up session in January 2010. Each day of the June session will include lectures, discussion and a hands-on "lab" component. A course pack and a private, online discussion space will be provided to supplement learning and application of the material. An opening reception dinner on Sunday, break time treats and coffee, and a dinner on Thursday will also be included.

This institute is designed to foster skills, knowledge and community-building among professionals responsible for the curation of digital materials.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009* Overview of the digital preservation problem* Managing in response to technological change* Characterization of digital objects* LAB - Creating Ingest rules in iRODS* From rules to trust - forms of evidence that a repository is doing the right things

Thursday, June 25, 2009* Access and use considerations* Access and user interface examples from DICE* How and why to conduct research on digital collection needs* LAB - Analyzing server logs and developing strategies based on what you find* Returning to first principles - core professional principles that should drive digital curation

Friday, June 26, 2009* Overview and characterization of existing tools* LAB - Evaluating set of software options to support a given digital curation workflow* Formulating your six-month action plan - task for each individual, with instructors available to provide guidance

January 6-7, 2010Participants in the June event will return to Chapel Hill in Jan 2010 to discuss their experiences in implementing what they have learned in their own work environments. Participants will compare experiences, lessons learned and strategies for continuing progress.

About Me

Jill Hurst-Wahl is an associate professor of practice in the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. She was the director its M.S. in Library and Information Science program (2012-2017). She is a member of the USNY Technology Policy and Practice Council (2009-president) and the OCPL Board of Trustees (2016-present). A former corporate librarian, Jill has always been an advocate for expanding the career opportunities for LIS graduates. Her interests include innovation, brainstorming, copyright, digitization, and social media.

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